


Unconditionally

by theragingstorm



Series: Trials and Miracles [1]
Category: Frozen (2013), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Epilepsy, F/M, Modern AU, Mostly Fluff, Prologue, Unconditional Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 08:14:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3970573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theragingstorm/pseuds/theragingstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Takes place before Trials and Miracles. Acts as a prologue, so it's not necessary to read that to understand this.)</p><p>Before Elsa had to become a sister again, she fell in love. Before Anna and Kristoff's story, there was Elsa and Jack's. But in the process, even she had to figure out what love was and what it meant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconditionally

**Author's Note:**

> It was suggested to me that since I only hinted at Jack and Elsa's love story in Trials and Miracles, I should try writing it. It took me an eternity, but I'm happy that I did.
> 
> Disclaimer: I have no first-hand experience of epilepsy, I have only Google searches. Please forgive any mistakes.

Elsa knew that she was not a well-put-together person. Any little victory of hers seemed like it had taken a lifetime to accomplish.

But when her therapist told her that she no longer had to take her antidepressants, she actually felt more relieved than exhausted for once.

She even felt good enough to go get breakfast at her favorite cafe the next day instead of waiting to eat at her factory’s cafeteria.

It was a drizzly day in early September. The sky was gray and overcast, and the rain wearily spat down on the city. Most people were either dragging themselves out of bed or already huddled up safely at their schools or offices.

Elsa didn’t mind. The interior of the Lucky Cat Cafe was toasty warm and smelled of coffee and chocolate. Cass, the friendly brunette woman who ran the cafe, always had interesting stories to tell. Occasionally, her nephews would even come in to say hi.

After she paid for her mocha and blueberry pancakes and took them to an unoccupied table, Cass’s cat Mochi curled up on the unoccupied countertop. She chuckled softly at this as she sipped her coffee and gazed out at the rainy city.

“Things may be getting better,” she murmured to herself.

The bell over the door rang, and a young man in a navy-blue hoodie came into the cafe. His hood was up, so Elsa couldn’t see his face. She immediately lost interest and went back to her breakfast.

However, he and Cass started chatting, and she realized that his voice sounded familiar.

“Welcome to the city, Jackson! You know, while you’re here, there’s a lot to see if you take your time. Have you been to the botanical gardens yet? Or the Smithsonian museums? And if you come back here in the spring, the cherry blossoms will be out!”

“It’s just Jack, but thanks! I can’t stay much longer actually; I gotta go back to Pennsylvania in two weeks.”

“So soon? Really?”

He chuckled affectionately. “Yeah. My mom and sister keep Skyping me and nagging me about when I’m gonna come back. Believe me, you don’t know  _annoying_  until you’ve got a younger sister.”

Cass laughed and handed him his coffee. Elsa realized where she’d heard his voice from, and she felt her cheeks heat up. Immediately, she dug a back issue of  _Vogue_  out of her purse and held it in front of her face, pretending to read.

But as Jack headed across the cafe to a table of his own, she couldn’t help sneaking glances at him. Even with the fiasco from a few days ago, he was still quite attractive.

He drank his coffee faster than she did. When he finished, he had a ring of cream around his lips and looked completely unperturbed by it.

Elsa snorted quietly to herself, and he looked up. They locked eyes just for a moment before she remembered to hide behind her magazine again.

Too late. There was the unmistakeable sound of a chair scraping back, and before she knew it he was standing in front of her table. He looked at her curiously over her magazine.

_His eyes are very blue._

Jack’s curious look immediately shifted into a smirk of recognition.

“Hey. I know you. You’re the ice cream queen.”

“That’s  _Snow_  Queen Elsa Winters to you,” she replied.

“No you’re not. The Snow Queen like, a really nasty chick who kidnapped little kids.”

“She at least had style.” Elsa set her magazine down on the table.

“And was lonely.”

“How can you tell?”

“She lived in a big ice castle all by herself with a bunch of bees. You do the math.”

“Maybe she  _wanted_  to be alone,” she countered.

“Then why did she kidnap Kai?”

“She was evil,” she declared, hoping he would lose interest in the conversation. Just seeing him around was embarrassing enough. “She was evil, and she liked freezing hearts and crushing little girls’ dreams.”

Jack looked at her more carefully. “You don’t  _seem_  evil to me.”

“You don’t know what I’m like.” Elsa stirred a spoon in the dregs of her mocha.

“Well, I know you were nice enough to make sure I was alive.”

_“Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Somebody make sure he’s okay! Why did this have to happen; oh wake up wake up! Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead…”_

_“He’s waking up!”_

_“He’s okay!”_

_“Is he really?”_

_“Hello. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”_

_“I…”_

_“Yes?”_

_“I must be dreaming.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“Will you go out with me?”_

_SLAP!_

_“Ooh, that’s gonna sting.”_

_“Somebody call an ambulance and get him to a hospital. If he has a concussion, we’re gonna want him treated as fast as possible so we don’t get sued.”_

Elsa grimaced slightly at the memory.

“Well, I guess,” she concurred. “Why…why did you think you were dreaming?”

“What, when I saw you?”

She nodded.

“Have you not looked in a mirror lately?”

Elsa couldn’t help blushing a little, even as she rolled her eyes. Everyone and their mother called her beautiful; it wasn’t like this instance was special or anything. Even so, she reached up and started fiddling with her braid almost nervously.

“Well,” she said, desperately trying to sound cool and collected again, “that’s very nice of you.”

“Glad you think so.” He brushed a strand of white hair out of his eyes. “Cause you don’t seem to like me very much.”

“I don’t like anyone very much anymore,” she said briskly. “Besides, it’s not like we met under fortuitous circumstances.”

“Really? I thought that they were very romantic, what with the screaming crowds, my bruised skull, and my stinging cheek and such.”

“Well, that’s what you get for being so presumptuous,” she retorted.

To Jack’s credit though, he hadn’t yet tried to sidle up in the seat next to her or anything. Even if they were attracting a few confused stares from other customers.

He fake-bowed. “Apologies, my lady. Forgive this fool for being,  _ahem,_  presumptuous.  _Are_  you single?”

Although she felt a bit taken aback, Elsa considered her options. If she lied, he’d might not believe it and keep bothering her. If she told the truth, and they ended up going on a date, he’d quickly see how antisocial she really was. Then he’d probably lose interest the way her few other dates had.

“Yes I am. By the way, you’re very persistent. Did anyone ever tell you that?”

He smirked. “Yeah.” But his cocky expression flickered for a moment when he said, “So…would you like to go out with me tonight?”

She made up her mind. “Alright.”

He fist-pumped the air. “Yes! I mean, great. Cool.”

She rolled her eyes, idly digging out her phone to check the time. Immediately, she shrieked in shock.

“Oh my God! I’m late for work!”

Jack laughed. “You need to relax. You  _run_ that company; it’s not like you have a boss to yell at you about being late.”

“But there’s so much that I have to do! I’m _never_  late for work, this is awful!”

“Never?” He looked aghast.

“Never!”

She flung her phone and magazine into her purse and ran for the door of the cafe. But as she reached the door, she paused and turned back.

“Well, see you tonight. I’ll call you at lunchtime, I suppose.”

“You’re gonna need my number first,” Jack pointed out.

“Oh…right.”

Their cheeks both flushed as they exchanged numbers, and Elsa left wondering what she had gotten herself into.

 

 

They stared at each other awkwardly as they ate their dinners, silently envious of all the other people out on dates around them. There was the gorgeous raven-haired couple who were laughing at some unheard jokes, the pair who were chatting animatedly about literature, the slightly older black woman who kept rolling her eyes and smiling at her dashing-faced husband.

 _Why,_  Elsa thought miserably,  _does every single goddamn couple in Washington D.C. have to be out here tonight? What is this, a casting call for_  Romeo and Juliet?

At least Jack had been polite to her, not flirting with the waitress or glancing at his phone or anything. But his joking air had dried up sometime during the appetizers, and now looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but there.

_He seemed to like me before._

Elsa was suddenly desperate to not have the night be a total failure. Even if he ended up leaving her alone like she’d hoped earlier that day.

“So,” she enunciated, “what are you doing in Washington?”

It was the lamest thing she could’ve thought to have said. She wanted to slap herself for it. But at least it wasn’t silence.

He looked up at her in surprise, simply replying, “I’ve wanted to visit here for a while. I mean…at least it’s not Burgess, Pennsylvania.”

He said it offhandedly, but she still noticed the little smile when he mentioned his hometown. Her spirits involuntarily rose.

“Yeah, but you still miss it, don’t you?”

Jack nodded emphatically, his old energy beginning to return.

“No kidding. Talk about Nowheresville, but hey. Home is where the mom and Emma is.”

“Emma?”

Jack genuinely smiled. “ _Not_  my girlfriend, in case you were wondering. She’s my little sister.” He dug out his phone and showed her a picture of himself with a much younger brown-haired girl. Both of them were beaming and waving at the camera.

An unexpected pang of sorrow shot through Elsa. It must’ve showed on her face, because Jack immediately looked chagrined.

“No no!” she blurted. “It’s not you, it’s just…I have a younger sister too.”

_Why did I just say that!?_

“Her name’s Anna, and I haven’t seen her in two years. I…really miss her.”

 _Okay idiot, time to shut up before you say anything else stupid. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling him what you_ did _to your own sister._

He looked horrified. “I had no idea…”

“It’s not your fault,” she repeated. “It’s okay.”

Jack looked comforted, and the rest of the conversation was considerably less awkward, but he would still occasionally give her strange looks for the rest of dinner.

At the end of it, after they split the bill, Elsa fully expected him to have had enough of her.

But when they headed for the door, he turned to her and said, “You wanna go do something less boring tomorrow night?”

“You want a second date?”

“Sure. You know any good places to go?”

Elsa was so astonished that it took her a moment to reply.

“Well,” she said slowly, “have you been to the Adams Morgan district yet?”

 

 

“Ha, and I thought you said you didn’t dance!”

“I’m a liar; get over it.”

 

 

“Remind me to never watch horror movies again.”

“I dunno, that Creature kinda reminds me of a guy from back home.”

 

 

“So this Abe Lincoln guy: special to you?”

“I’m not sure actually. I kinda just like this monument.”

“That’s why we’re out here in the rain?”

“Need I remind you that it was your idea to come here?”

“This is what I get for trying to be romantic. It’s a travesty!”

 

 

The end of the two weeks came surprisingly quickly. After one awkward first date, and several more successful ones, Jack had to head back to Pennsylvania. They said quick goodbyes, and Elsa drove to work while he headed to the airport.

She sat behind the desk of her office and immediately threw herself into her work. She became so preoccupied that she almost missed the ring of her office phone. In other words, about as busy as normal.

“Hello?”

The hasty Scottish-accented tones of her new secretary filled her ears.

“Miss Winters, there is one o’ yer workers here teh see ye.”

“Which one?”

“A big blond man, truck driver he said?” A pause, and Elsa heard a brief exchange in the background. “Yes, thah’s right.”

Elsa knew who she was talking about. Kristoff Bjorgman had been working for her for about a year, and unlike most of her workers, he had never seemed attracted to her. This had a lot of his colleagues wondering if he was gay, but Elsa privately found it refreshing.

“Send him in, Maudie.”

Kristoff walked into her office in his usual clumpy way. His shaggy blond mop was in desperate need of a haircut, and he looked irritated about something. From what Elsa knew about him, that was fairly typical of Kristoff.

“Yes, what is it?” Elsa was itching to get back to her work. She had a few important phone calls to make soon, and afterwards had to check on her stocks.

“I have a request,” he said shortly. “I want you to put me on more shorter-range routes, like Maryland and such, instead of the more far-distance ones.”

Elsa raised her eyebrows.

“I would hope that you have a good reason for making this request,” she warned. “I don’t have very many cross-state drivers.”

Kristoff scratched his hair almost meditatively. Elsa could’ve sworn she saw something fall out of there, and she tried to swallow down her disgust.

“My family,” he finally decided. “My mom and brother are going to go berserk if I’m out of the D.C. area for three weeks or more again. Then they’ll lead the whole clan on a riot in your factory.”

He sounded completely serious.

“Besides, don’t you have planes and things to deliver the ice cream to farther-away places?”

Elsa leaned back in her seat, deliberately taking her time.

“Alright, Kristoff,” she eventually said. “But only because it’s you.”

“Ha ha.”

Right then as he turned for the door, her cell phone started playing “Take Me or Leave Me” from  _Rent,_ and Elsa started.

_Take Me or Leave Me…a text?_

She picked up the phone and checked it. First she was surprised, and then she began to smile.

Kristoff didn’t say anything, only raised his eyebrows.

The text read:  _Flight’s delayed, and my iPad’s out of battery (curse you Angry Birds and restaurants with no charging stations!) so the only way to entertain myself is to make sure you’re not too bored at work. If you want, I can send you some pictures :)_

 _What kind of pictures are we talking about here?_  she texted back.

His reply came in the form of a picture of a Starbucks coffee cup. On the side had been written  _Jackass._

_Let’s just say that this barista doesn’t like me very much._

Elsa couldn’t help a small chuckle. Jackson Overland Frost, provoker of baristas.

 _Hope you can come back to D.C. again soon,_  she found herself sending.

_Yeah, me too._

Elsa put away her phone in time to realize that Kristoff was staring at her in bemusement.

“Is there something on my face?” she asked dryly.

He shook his head quickly. “It’s just…do you have a boyfriend or something?”

Elsa felt her face heat up. “I wouldn’t actually call him a boyfriend.”

To her relief, Kristoff didn’t push the subject. He only nodded.

“Well okay.” He headed for the door, before pausing and turning around. “And uh…thanks.”

“Oh! You’re welcome.”

He left with the tiniest of smiles on his face, and Elsa couldn’t help but feel the same way.

 

 

_Hope your day was alright._

_Yours too._

 

_Emma says hi!_

_Tell her hi from me!_

_She says “Get married.”_

_Oh lord._

 

 _And this is Kristoff. He’s not_ quite _as grouchy as he looks._

_He’s not your other boyfriend, is he?_

_Ha ha. He’s my friend._

_You have friends?_

_Keep this up Frost, and you’ll never see this number again._

_Oh, what a tragedy._

_You’d better believe it._

 

_How’re things running at North Pole Toys?_

_Not quite record-high stocks, but we’re doing okay._

 

_See you soon?_

_See you soon._

 

 

Technology was a wonderful thing, Elsa decided. For the last couple months, she and Jack had been communicating via phone and Skype calls, texts, and emails, and it had gotten to the point where she would automatically grin whenever her text tone sounded.

But she was still excited to see him in person again.

The thought was the only thing keeping her from ripping her hair out in the middle of her meeting with the Westergaard brothers.

“Miss Winters,” one of them said patronizingly (Elsa had long ago given up trying to remember all their names), “I believe that you don’t understand the situation. You  _rely_  on us, and on all your customers. I would recommend that you treat us with greater respect. You know what would happen if we stopped our support for you.”

“Runo, please,” said the third oldest Westergaard. “Give her a break.”

“A break? A  _break?_  Perhaps you do not understand business, you book-brained imbecile.”

“Please brothers,” said the oldest in an imperious tone. “Leave your petty squabbles behind in the nursery.” He faced Elsa, deliberately looking down his nose at her. “Miss Winters, you understand our proposition now?” He phrased it like an order.

Elsa gritted her teeth and forced a smile.

“Mr. Westergaard, I believe that our contract was that you pay me what my ice cream is worth, yes?”

He chuckled. “It was. But your ice cream has dropped in quality since then. So we need not pay you as much.”

That was a blatant lie, and everyone in the room knew it. But the Westergaards believed that she would roll over and agree to their demands, because  _apparently_  they were her most important customers.

Elsa’s smile grew sweeter.

“That’s such a shame, that my produce has dropped in quality. If only it hadn’t.”

The oldest Westergaard brother chuckled in agreement, smelling victory.

“So, let us change the contract to–”

“Did I ever give any implications that I would change the contract?”

The conference room grew completely silent.

Elsa dropped her sweet smile.

“As long as you do business with me, our original contract stands. Those are my terms.”

“Your terms?” one of the other brothers blustered. “You have no ground to create terms, woman!”

_And the gloves come off._

“As a matter of fact, I do. My stocks have only been climbing since I took this position, and they have recently become the highest of any ice cream company…in the entire country.”

Shocked silence. Hadn’t expected her to do her research, had they?

“As for you…” She allowed a thin layer of distaste to slip into her voice. “Your stocks have dramatically _dropped_ since that unfortunate meat incident. I’m fairly certain you need me more than I need you.”

“You little–”

“Rudi.” The oldest brother paused long enough to snap at the other, even as he glared at her. “Very well, Miss Winters. Our original contract will stand.”

“Good.” Elsa leaned back languorously in her seat. “I believe that we have no more need for this meeting, then.”

A few looking shell-shocked, a few looking impressed, and most looking furious, all thirteen of the brothers filed out of her conference room.

Elsa sighed with relief and checked the time on her phone.

_7:45 p.m._

Jack’s plane would’ve landed nearly two hours ago. She winced, remembering her promise to pick him up at the airport.

 _Hope I don’t seem like_  too  _much of a bitch._

She slipped on her jacket and shouldered her purse. She paused to quickly run her fingers through her hair and apply a fresh coat of lipstick before heading down to her car.

To her surprise and displeasure, one of the Westergaards was waiting down by the car. One that she recognized and knew by name.

“Hello Elsa,” Hans said evenly, smiling at her.

“What do you want?” she snapped, not even bothering to keep her tone pleasant. “I don’t have time for any of your bullshit right now.”

“Elsa. Please.” He walked closer to her, both of them ignoring the big red station wagon that pulled up at the curb. “Hear me out. I want to apologize for my behavior last year.”

“You’ve apologized five times; it doesn’t mean a thing. If it wasn’t for Marshmallow’s intervention, you would’ve raped me.”

“That’s why I want to start over.” He paused. “Look Elsa, I know what I did was wrong. But you  _are_  a beautiful woman, and also considering the way you’ve been dressing lately, you should’ve expected that a man might take an interest in you.”

“So what does that have to do with anything?”

“You don’t deserve that kind of harassment. If you had someone by your side to keep men like that away from you…”

“ _You?_ ” She was incredulous.

“Think about it. You live on your own, you have no one to support you. You shouldn’t have to raise a finger, much less be the only breadwinner. You need someone to provide for and protect you. A beautiful woman living and working on her own…it’s not right.”

“The operative word being  _woman,_ ” Elsa snarled. She didn’t have time for this. “Listen to me, you sexist asshole. I don’t give a fuck what you think you can provide for me, I’m  _not interested._  Now get away from my car and fuck off back home or I’ll call security.”

Hans stared at her in astonishment for a few moments, before his handsome face twisted up in rage.

“You’ll regret this, you bitch.”

“You know what, I don’t think I will. Go tell your misogynistic feelings to someone who cares.”

Still looking enraged, Hans stalked away. Elsa turned to open her car, and was tackled-hugged from the side.

She yelled in fury and immediately head-butted her attacker in the nose. He staggered backwards yelling and clutching his face.

“For fuck’s sake, why is that every man in Washington D.C. today wants to –  _Jack!?_ ”

He grinned at her weakly while clutching his nose. “Did anyone ever tell you that you have a thick skull?”

She frantically started looking over his face to make sure she hadn’t broken anything. “Oh God, I’m so sorry! I thought you were – wait, how did you even get here?”

“My friends insisted on coming with me, and they rented a car for us.”

“ _Who_  did  _what?_ ”

“Elsatchka!” boomed a deep voice with a thick Russian accent. “You are even lovelier than your pictures!”

Immediately, she was swept up in a tight bear hug.

“You must be Nick St. North,” she gasped.

“Ha! Jack told you about us, yes?”

“Hey mate, she is  _way_  out of your league.”

“Aster, be nice! Ooh Elsa, you have such a nice smile! Do you bleach your teeth? I hope you don’t; it’s bad for them.”

“Aster and Thiana, right?” she asked as Nick put her down and she started massaging her ribs. “What are you all doing here?”

Thiana, a petite Southeast Asian woman with dyed-green hair and violet eyes, started shaking her hand and talking a mile a minute.

“Well, Jack wanted to visit you again, we wanted to meet you, but most of us are total cheapskates! So Nick, he runs the Pole, he paid for the plane tickets and the rental, and here we are! Omigod, it’s so nice to meet you!”

“Calm down, will ya?” Aster told her affectionately. He was a big man with blue-gray dreadlocks and Aboriginal designs tattooed on his arms. “You’re gonna scare her away.”

Elsa smiled a little dryly, allowing herself to think of Anna for a moment. “I’ve met scarier. Come on, I’ll book you a hotel room. Unless you’d like to stay at my apartment…?”

“Yes!” chorused all of his friends, and Jack shrugged in a  _what-can-you-do_  kind of way.

 

 

That may have been a mistake.

Aster was draped over one of her couches, with Thiana snuggled up next to him. Nick was sprawled on the other, snoring loudly.

She and Jack were tangled up in her bedsheets, kissing and pulling away the last of each others’ clothing.

“You are a  _menace,_ ” she gasped. “You make women laugh and weak at the – ohhh…”

“You’re an Amazon or some shit. I saw you shoot down that guy. It was –  _shit_  Elsa, yes – amazing. Oh God, sorry about that skirt…”

“Forget the skirt. I want you.”

“You’re a goddamn queen.”

They knew that they were going to get teased so much by the others the next morning. But they didn’t care.

 

 

Friendship and work by day. Lovemaking by night.

“If I didn’t know you any better Elsa, I’d say you were in love,” Kristoff had commented with a smirk at one point.

“Like you care about love.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”

“Then what right do you have to comment?”

“I’m your friend, remember?”

“Your brother won’t stop reminding me, so yes I do.”

“So I think you’re in love.”

Her cheeks heated up as she replied, “It’s too soon to say. And Kristoff, if you don’t knock it off, I’m not going to let you forget this if  _you_  ever fall in love.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to.”

“Well fuck then.”

“I thought that’s what you had Jack for.”

“Dammit, Kristoff!”

 

 

One night, as the orange glow of city lights illuminated her bedroom, a new subject was broached.

Jack softly stroked her hair, the two of them curled up naked under her sheets. Elsa was so tired, even more tired than usual…she’d been getting an hour of sleep a night at most between work and her guests. But she brushed off concerns, and even then fought to keep her eyes open and stay awake with him.

“You don’t talk much about your sister,” he murmured in a flyaway tone. “Do you think you’ll ever see her again?”

“I–I don’t know,” she mumbled, taken aback but not awake enough to get freaked out.

“Why not?” He shifted himself to look at her. “What happened?”

“I–”

“Elsa, what happened?”

She fought to keep her eyes open, but her body fought her. Her head began to fall deeper into her pillow, and as it did, an awful, familiar twitch began in her ends of her body. At first she hoped she was shaking with exhaustion, but then it began to move into her limbs.

_No. Please no. I’ve never had a seizure in front of him before, please no…_

“I…” she gasped.

“Elsa?”

In a burst of panic, she threw off the sheets and stumbled away out of her bedroom. She headed past her living room were his friends slept before staggering into the bathroom. She collapsed against the side of the tub, her body spasming uncontrollably and her eyes rolling back in her head.

After the seizure was over, just before she fell asleep on the cold tiles, she caught a glimpse of Jack’s shocked expression looking down at her.

 

 

“Well, I guess…have a safe flight.”

“Hope work is okay.”

As she turned away to leave, she heard the whispers:

“What happened between them?”

“Hell if I know.”

“He seemed really upset about something. And she’s barely been speaking to him–”

She headed back to her car and drove home through the season’s first snow. Bouncy Christmas carols popped up on the radio, and she turned them off.

 

 

Kristoff was the first who noticed the change in mood in her. In a very Kristoff-like gesture, he didn’t ask questions, but invited her over to his family’s house for their annual Christmas party instead.

That’s how Elsa ended up seated on the worn couch in the middle of the Bjorgman family’s living room, sipping mulled wine and surrounded by a crowd of her friend’s young cousins.

“You’re Ewlsa?” one tiny girl asked her, her brown eyes wide. “Krissy said you were pretty, but you’re _really_  pretty.”

“Heard that one a million times,” Elsa replied, smiling wryly. “How  _is_  Krissy doing, anyway?”

“He’s okay,” one of the boys said idly. “Are you his girlfriend?”

“Ha, he wishes.”

“No, I don’t actually,” Kristoff called from the other side of the room. “You make a much better friend than girlfriend.”

His brother Sven threw in his own opinion:  _I’m sure that that Frost guy would beg to differ._

The grin on Elsa’s face disappeared faster than snow in July, and a layer of tension slipped into the air. Sven looked ashamed for the first time since Elsa’d met him.

_I’m sorry, Elsa, I didn’t know. Did you guys break up?_

“Not officially.” She stirred a finger in her wine. Get it together. “But I’m sure he’s not interested anymore.”

“What!?” gasped the little kids.

“Why?” one of them asked, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Well…” She deliberated for a moment, trying to decide how to reply. “He saw something that he shouldn’t have. Something private about me.”

“Did he see you in your underwear?” another one of the kids asked innocently. Sven promptly snorted half his cup of eggnog up his nose, and even Kristoff hid a snicker.

Elsa glared at them both before replying, “Something like that.”

“Well, that’s a dumb reason to break up,” the kid declared. “Auntie Bulda says that when you love someone, you love them no matter what. Even if you see them in their underwear.”

“Well um…” She was taken aback. “Your auntie sounds very smart.”

“She is. She also calls Kristoff Moonpie sometimes, but he doesn’t want me to tell anyone that.”

Elsa nearly shot wine out her nose laughing, and Sven remarked,  _Remind me to tell his girlfriend that someday._

“Remind me to never get a girlfriend just for that reason.”

 

 

The Skype call was being slow to connect, and she tapped her fingers restlessly on the keyboard of her laptop.

_Get it together. It’s no big deal, you can do this. Just hope that he wants to get back together. And try not to sound pathetic._

At last, his face appeared on her computer screen. He was sprawled on his bed, and with him was his sister Emma, and another little boy that she didn’t recognize. The two kids were clambering on his back, and Emma had her hand extended to the screen. Elsa realized that it must’ve been  _her_  who answered the Skype call.

“Hi Elsa!” the boy said brightly. “Nice to meet you. Jack, why didn’t you ever let me come with you to D.C. to meet her?”

“Obviously, he didn’t let you come ‘cause they were having sex while he was there,” Emma answered sagely.

The two kids began snickering. The two adults turned matching shades of red.

Jack said quickly, “Hey, could you two little hooligans go check on Sophie? I don’t want her pulling on Molly’s tail again.”

They refused to get the hint.

“But we want to stay and talk to your girlfriend!”

“Yeah! We never got to before.”

Elsa decided to intervene. “Sorry guys. Jack and I need to discuss important boring grown-up stuff. Maybe we can talk later?”

The two kids looked disappointed, but they nodded in agreement. They slid off Jack and raced out of the room.

“Who was…?”

“Huh? Oh, that’s Jamie. He lives next door with his sister Sophie, and he and Emma are practically joined at the hip.” A distinct note of affection had crept into his voice. “Those kids give me a migraine, and I’m _way_  too young for migraines.” But he turned back to her, and his affectionate look became one of wariness. “But…why did you call me?”

“Forget that. Why was it that your sister had to pick up for you?”

“Because  _you_  started ignoring  _me,_  Elsa.”

“I panicked! I had a seizure in  _front_  of you!” she protested. “Nobody else on the planet except for my doctors and therapists knows about my – my condition!”

“But I don’t care about so-called conditions!”

“I didn’t know that!”

“So you didn’t trust me?” He was starting to sound angry.

Elsa’s temper was also beginning to rise. “That’s not the point! Do you not understand how I feel right now!?”

“No! I don’t understand why you hide from everyone who cares about you!”

A wave of fury swept over her.

“You don’t understand!?” she screamed at her laptop screen. “Fine! For the first three years, I couldn’t control my seizures at all, and they came much more often then they do now. I could’ve humiliated, or worse, hurt Anna during one of them! The only person in my life worth caring about at the time, and I could’ve hurt her!”

Jack correctly guessed where the story was going. “So you pushed away your sister?” His angry tone had fallen, and instead become very very quiet.

“I–I just wanted to protect her.” Ugly sobs ripped their way out of her throat between the words. “I did everything I could to make sure she never saw me like that, never found out. Now she’s gone, and  _you_ saw me during a seizure instead.”

“Elsa–”

“Just go.”

Still crying, she ended the call and walked away. While she was gone, she didn’t notice the rings of attempted calls coming from the laptop.

 

 

_Elsa. You’re not picking up. Did you get my voicemails? Or texts? Or other messages? Or…this is starting to sound pathetic, but please pick up._

 

_Elsa, do you want me to come back sometime soon? I miss you._

 

_Elsa, what’s wrong?_

 

_Elsa, the silence is getting deafening. That’s a stupid term, but it works in this case._

 

_Elsa, why are you ignoring me? Am I invisible?_

 

 

New Year’s came and went. Dreary January began, and so did the Northern Hemisphere’s annual hate affair with gray, wet slush.

On that particular day, Elsa had already woken up late, missed her shower, and not gotten any coffee. She drove to work in her nice dry Prius, but as soon as she stepped out of it her expensive leather boots sank ankle-deep in muck. It was barely even snow anymore, gray and brown and disgusting.

She growled out loud. _It’s just going to be one of those days, isn’t it?_

She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and headed up to the thirteenth floor, her ruined boots leaving wet footprints all over the building. By the time she made it up to the her office, Elsa was practically snarling. Poor Maudie made the foolish decision of trying to give her boss a letter from the IRS.

“Fucking taxes–” Elsa growled, ripping the letter out of her secretary’s hands. “Fucking stupid government. If I were running this country–”

“With all due respect, Miss Winters, ah don’t think yer blood pressure would want ye teh.”

Biting her tongue, Elsa stormed into her office before she could say something that she’d  _really_  regret. One of the most important things her father had drilled into her head about running a company was to never treat one’s employees/inferiors in general with disrespect. But on certain days it was just so hard to keep her bad mood pushed down.

She began to calm down once she began to get into her work. Sleet hammered down on her windows and the sky was the color of dingy metal, but her mind switched into “work mode,” and external thoughts and feelings were pushed out of the way.

Towards the end of the morning, Elsa sipped cafeteria coffee while checking for new emails. There was one from Sven of a bunch of Photoshopped pictures of certain politicians, a notice from the Westergaards that she deleted immediately, one from the La Bouffs regarding when her next sugar delivery would arrive, an ad for a five-day vacation in Maui, and one from a lesser-known address.

To: [wintersarendelles@hotmail.com](mailto:wintersarendelles@hotmail.com)

From: [nickstnorthpole@gmail.com](mailto:nickstnorthpole@gmail.com)

“Nick, this had better not be what I think it’s about,” she muttered, clicking the email open.

It read:

_Dear Elsa Idina “Elsatchka” Winters,_

_I told my employees that I would ask you if you would like to deliver ice cream for the cafeterias in our factories. I am still asking you this, but I also ask you for something personal. My godson would like to see you again, it is clear. Can you allow him to come back to Washington D.C.? He is still in love with you. Consider it, please._

_Sincerely,_

_Nick St. North_

Her bad mood rushed back along with a wave of exhaustion. The tiniest of twitches began in her fingers, and she tried to will the worst of a seizure away.

“You have a lot of nerve, North,” she growled, getting to her feet and pacing her office. “Lying to me like that; damn you. Like anyone would still love me after what happened. What do you think I am, an idiot?”

The heels of her ruined boots made clacking noises on the hardwood floor as she paced. Her fingers shook, her breaths came quicker together. A sob began building in her throat.

“And you know what? Fuck love. He won’t want me anymore, and I already drove my sister away years ago. My friends can’t even know about my stupid medical reports.”

She fell forward, barely catching herself on the side of her desk. Her arms had begun to tremble as well. She gasped, sweat beginning to bead her forehead.

“Forget – forget it all.”

Normally, her seizures were over within five minutes. This one lasted nearly ten.

By the time it was over, a strange feeling of conviction slowly began to come over her. She immediately stood up on her shaking legs and wiped her forehead. She scooped up her purse and wrapped her coat around her shoulders.

Maudie started when Elsa walked past.

“Miss Winters…?”

“I’m gonna be gone a while.” She barely heard her own voice as she continued to walk away.

“Where are ye goin’?”

_I must be out of my mind._

“Pennsylvania. I’ll try to be back by tomorrow evening, but cancel my meetings for the next three days anyway.”

“The people yer meetin’ with aren’t gonna be happy,” the older woman said nervously.

“Never mind that. I’m off to the airport.” Elsa paused at the hallway. “Oh, and thank you.”

And she left for the airport, leaving the other woman feeling very confused.

 

 

When Elsa arrived in Philadelphia that afternoon, the first things she noticed was that it was considerably bigger, more crowded, and noisier than D.C. She was very relieved to leave it behind.

In the driver’s seat of the rental Honda, she drove past snowy forests and fiddled with the radio. The Honda’s GPS, which in a fit of whimsy she’d nicknamed Maureen, regularly gave her calm directions towards Burgess.

 _“Turn right in two miles, and go another ten miles in that direction,”_  Maureen told her.

 _“I won’t run, I won’t fly, I will never make it by without you…”_  sang Usher.

She let the noise block out her worries. This was an  _Anna-level_ reckless thing to do, and the more that she thought about it the more freaked out she’d get.

She finally pulled into Burgess. It was a small town, the kind of which she’d never seen before. Very quiet, stereotypical American kind of place, with white houses and big cars. It seemed much more peaceful than a big city.

Then a snowball hit her windshield.

Elsa was so shocked she nearly drove into a stop sign.

“Bulls-eye!” shouted a young voice. “Did anybody see that?”

“Nice shot Caleb!” yelled another voice. “Let me try!”

“No, me!”

“Hey Monty, you wanna try?”

Elsa rolled down her window and stuck her head out. A group of kids was gathered on the sidewalk, all of them hefting snowballs.

“Didn’t your mothers ever tell you that it was dangerous to throw things at moving vehicles?” she hollered. “I could’ve run any of you over!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t,” one of them pointed out.

Another couple of kids started muttering something to each other about grumpy ladies.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to ignore your faulty logic. Do any of you know where a guy called Jack Frost lives?”

One of the boys scratched his head. “Why do you wanna see Jack?”

“Hey, this is the lady Jamie and Emma talked about!” another one exclaimed. “It’s Jack’s girlfriend!”

The kids all looked at her with a newfound degree of respect.

“He lives down that street,” the only girl in the group declared. She was several inches taller than the tallest boy and was wearing a pink tutu. “Big blue house with Frost on the mailbox. Still lives with his mom and sister.”

“Thank you.” Elsa revved the car forward. “Please, no more snowballs.”

She almost reluctantly left the kids behind to head over to the house. Almost immediately upon ringing the doorbell, a middle-aged brunette woman opened the door. She had traces of gray in her hair and lines around her eyes, but she smiled warmly at Elsa.

“I can guess who you must be,” she remarked gently, holding out a hand. “I’m Catherine Overland. Come on in; you’re in time for dinner.”

Elsa carefully tiptoed inside the house, looking around. The walls were painted a soft lilac, and framed photos of Jack, Emma, and Catherine lined the shelves. Some of the earlier pictures also featured an unfamiliar brown-haired man.

Inside the brightly-lit kitchen, Emma was already seated at the dining table, devouring a bowl of pasta and alfredo sauce. When she looked up and saw Elsa, she nearly choked.

“Oh my God!” she managed through a mouthful of food. “You came!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, young lady,” Catherine reprimanded.

Emma swallowed. “Aww, Mom.” She turned back to Elsa. “I knew you’d come back. But my brother was scared you wouldn’t want to see him again.”

He  _was scared_  I  _wouldn’t want to see him again?_

“Well…” Elsa rubbed the back of her neck. “I…do.”

Mother and daughter exchanged looks.

“He’s in his room upstairs; second door on the left,” Catherine finally said. “The two of you can eat afterwards if you like.”

Elsa thanked her and headed upstairs. She stood in front of the door for a few moments before realizing that it was cracked open, and that she could see him inside. He was dancing around his room with earbuds in and a big grin on his face, mouthing along to the song.

She couldn’t help smiling. The sight finally gave her the courage to knock.

“Is it dinnertime yet?” Jack yelled, not facing her. “Hang on Mom, the song’s almost over!”

“Oh thanks a lot,” Elsa smirked. “I didn’t know I looked  _that_  old.”

Jack turned around and froze on the spot. He looked at her in shock, slowly yanking out his earbuds and heading over to her almost spellbound.

“What…” He shook his head. “What are you doing in Burgess?”

Immediately, all her worries and anxieties came flooding back.

“I…I don’t know,” she stammered.

“Oh,” he said flatly. “You don’t know.”

“I mean, it seemed like a bad idea.”

“A bad idea. Because ignoring all my messages for the last two weeks  _wasn’t_  a bad idea?”

“I…didn’t notice them.”

“Apparently.”

Elsa stepped forward, trying to take deep breaths.

“Jack, it was a crazy idea, and normally I don’t do that kind of thing. But I had to see you again.”

“And you chose now?” He was glaring, but his voice still cracked on the last word. “After shutting me out and ignoring me like that? For the last few months, I’ve been trying hard to communicate with you, but you push me away!”

Elsa bristled. “ _Push you away?_  I agreed to keep seeing you, I invited you into my house, I let you into my body!”

“If you didn’t push me away, then what was the last two weeks?”

Both of them were shouting now.

“You  _still_  don’t understand! Do you know how incredibly violating it feels to have someone see me like that?”

“In a  _seizure?_  You pushed me away because of  _that?_  You honestly thought that would drive me away?”

“You heard what I did to my sister!”

“Goddammit Elsa, that was years ago! She’s probably forgiven you long ago! Why can’t you fucking see that and move on, and not shut people out because you think no one wants you!”

“If I make you invisible, then why do you care?” she screamed. “Why do you keep bothering? Why do you keep pushing all the time, if I’m so obviously an unmovable abhorrent person?”

“Why?” The two of them were practically nose-to-nose. “Because I love you, Elsa!”

She gaped, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Neither of them had said it yet. She’d been too afraid of giving the wrong impression.

For his part, Jack looked just as shocked as she felt.

A few more silent moments passed.

“Even though…?”

“Elsa, I’m not perfect either. I lose my temper easily, I’m clingy, I’m competitive, I tell awesome jokes at all the wrong times–”

“ _Awesome_  jokes?”

“Hey.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m in the middle of my incredibly amazing love speech. You’re not supposed to interrupt the incredibly amazing love speech.”

She grinned. “Okay then. Go on.”

“So anyway, you’re not a perfect girl. So what? I’m not perfect either; nobody is. You still care about me, I think it’s safe to say. You’re still a fucking badass queen. And I love you.”

Elsa took his hands. “For what it’s worth, I do love you too. And…I’m sorry for pushing you away. I really thought that you wouldn’t want me anymore.”

“Well, I do want you.”

Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed him. He sighed contentedly and leaned forward into the kiss. Elsa’s heart seemed to expand to fill her chest, and her skin hummed with warmth.

When they broke apart, the first words out of his mouth were, “Want to get some dinner?”

“Oh thanks. Was I  _that_  bad?”

“You were dynamite, babe. But I’m hungry.”

“To be honest, I am too. Let’s go eat with your mom and sister.”

They took each others’ hands and raced down the stairs to the kitchen.

 

 

As summer began to beat down on the city for the first time, Elsa voiced something she’d been feeling for a while.

“I must be such an expensive girlfriend.”

"What makes you say that?”

“I mean, I come over to see you too. But there are still so many plane tickets and gas that you and Nick pay for just to see me in person!”

“Well, yeah, considering all the canned beets he makes me eat on the road…”

“Jack, I’m serious!”

“So am I. Elsa, you’re worth it!”

“Thanks. I just wish that there was a less expensive option for you.”

“Hmmm…”

 

 

_I’ll be heading over to the airport soon. How much of your stuff did you bring?_

_Enough for a while._

_You brought seven suitcases, didn’t you?_

_You know, they told me I couldn’t have seven carry-on bags. That is_ so _economy._

_Jack…_

_Your apartment’s full of ladies’ clothing!_

_Why am I letting you live with me…_

_Either love or faulty judgement._

_Both works._

 

 

Elsa lugged three of her boyfriend’s suitcases into her apartment, and he dragged the rest in behind him. The heat of midsummer was still lingering into August, and both of them were very eager to get out of it into the chill of her air-conditioned apartment. During the summer, Elsa always kept her air-conditioning on high enough to make a penguin feel chilly, but both of them liked it.

Both of them dropped the suitcases in her bedroom, and collapsed onto her new queen-sized bed. They rested for a minute or so, breathing heavily and staring up at the ceiling.

“Of course the elevator had to break,” he finally grumbled.

“An outrage,” she teased him between breaths. “I demand to speak to the landlord.” She paused. “Then again, those stairs really  _were_  murder. Maybe I should get into shape.”

Jack raised one hand weakly. “I’ll take up running again, I swear.”

Elsa chuckled lightly and leaned her cheek against his shoulder.

“Anna was a runner,” she mused somewhat randomly. “Right from the start. You know how little kids always race each other? That tiny little ball of energy would always leave nerdy bookish me in the dust.”

“Wish I knew her. The more you talk about her, the cooler she seems.”

“Me too.”

A few moments of quiet.

“You’ve been able to talk about her more.”

“It doesn’t…stop hurting. And I don’t stop missing her. But I’m surviving, I guess.”

“I know you can. Like that song.”

“Oh God. You’re not going to sing, are you?”

“I’m offended. I have a wonderful voice.” He raised his baritone in an awful imitation of Gloria Gaynor: “ _At first I was afraid, I was petrified–_ ”

“You’re going to get evicted before most of your things even show up.”

“The landlord’s gonna give us a free pass on next month’s rent, you mean.  _Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side…_ ”

Elsa buried her face in one of her pillows to keep him from seeing her laughing.

 

 

“Jack…is that…?

"Depends on what you think it is. Okay, aside from that I’m going to refrain from making any jokes in this speech. I love you. Lord, I love you. You are such an incredible wonderful woman, even though you can’t see it yourself. Thank you so much for dropping that ice cream carton on my head, which sounds weird but hey. I got to meet you that way. I’m so grateful for the last year, and I want the rest of my life to be like that. Elsa Idina Winters…will you marry me?”

Elsa stared at him with a poker face. “Well, I dunno. You forgot to do the dishes last Tuesday. How can I marry someone who occasionally forgets to do the dishes?”

For a second, all that registered on his face was confusion. Then he snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Ha ha, Elsa. Very funny. I guess you learned from the best, huh?”

“You thought that that was a joke?” she exclaimed dramatically. “Because…it was.”

“You’re a stinker, woman.”

“That’s not the first time someone’s told me that.” She bent down. “And by the way… _yes._ Emphatically, absolutely, yes.”

She leaned forward to kiss him, but he put a finger to her lips.

“What?”

“How can you kiss a man who occasionally forgets to do the dishes? He’s not worthy.”

“Oh, don’t turn my own joke on me.”

“Too late.”

“Shut up and kiss me, Frost.”

He did.

 

 

“Did you get my picture?”

“I did. Congratulations. Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, you  _seem_  pretty assured.”

“Are you surprised, Bjorgman?”

“In this case, yes. This is a big commitment to one person, Elsa.”

“I know.”

“A lot of things could go wrong.”

“I know.”

“And you’re going through with it anyway?”

“I love him.”

“That’s some dedication.”

“That’s what love is.”

 

 

Sitting together on the couch, Jack pored through a stack of wedding magazines, and Elsa checked out dresses and tuxedoes online. Fall was beginning to show outside, with the leaves being shed in huge heaps of brown. Clouds and fog rolled in over the Potomac, and drizzly rain spattered their windows. Mugs of steaming hot chocolate rested on the coffee table in front of them.

“I’m really not too sure about this dress,” she eventually said, turning her laptop to face him.

He looked up from flower arrangements to look at the description. “No kidding. You of all people don’t need bust padding.”

“Thank you.” She closed the tab. “Weddings are harder than I thought. We haven’t even figured out when it’s going to be.”

“Forget it.” He leaned back in his seat. “We’ll figure out something. Eventually.”

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Dancing-Through-Life,” Elsa sighed. “I’m  _already_  stressed out. Summer’s over, and I have to pump up my advertising staff for winter again. Wish  _I_  worked at Nick’s company right now, whether in Pennsylvania or here. When you’re selling toys, your sales  _increase_  in the winter!”

“Elsa. You need to  _chill._ ”

“Chill? I’m perfectly chill.” She flopped backwards against the couch. “Perfectly fucking fine.”

Jack groaned, and got to his feet. He left the living room and headed into their bedroom.

_Thanks for the support. That’s really nice._

She lay back for a minute or so, irritably listening to the rain splat against the windows. Then she began to wonder exactly what Jack was doing in their bedroom anyway.

She finished her hot chocolate in one long swig, and tiptoed to the door. Very quietly, she peeked inside and nearly laughed out loud.

It was almost like the first time she’d gone to Burgess. Dancing around the room with earbuds in, he shuffled neatly in place and spun a few times, clapping his hands. His lips moved soundlessly to the lyrics.

“What are you listening to?” Elsa finally asked.

Jack jumped and spun around to see her. He grinned lopsidedly at her and pulled out his earbuds.

“Ah, just David Guetta. How about you? You chilled enough yet?”

“No.” Elsa stepped into their bedroom. “I think that I need to have a little…” She deliberately paused. “…fun.”

“You need to have some fun, eh?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She sauntered closer until the two of them were chest-to-chest. “You know what I mean.”

He pressed a lingering kiss to her lips, gripping her hips with one hand.

“I do indeed. Hang on one sec.”

Elsa shut her eyes. There was a couple clicks, and a pulsing bass beat filled the bedroom.

Her eyes flew open. Jack’s grin had only grown wider.

“How about you dance with me? Nothing like a good dance party to relieve your stress.”

She couldn’t help laughing. “Okay fine; but we’re de-stressing  _my_  way afterwards.”

“Fine, I’m not complaining.”

The two of them spun around the room, laughing at each other’s lack of talent and stomping their feet to the music. But their fun certainly didn’t end when the music did.

 

 

Rural Pennsylvania was beautiful in the winter. Snow blanketed the ground with soft white, ice dripped from tree branches, curlicues of frost spiraled on glass windows. The sky was covered with pearl-gray clouds that hung low to the ground while the cold immediately snapped awake anybody who went outside.

Elsa appreciated that as she stood in the woods, gazing at a frozen pond. There were lines criss-crossing the pond from the local kids skating there, and she marveled at how there had been no accidents yet. The Burgess kids could be a little bit reckless.

Speaking of reckless…

“I thought I might find you here.”

She didn’t turn around. “Am I that predictable?”

“Hey, understandable. It’s gorgeous here. Not as gorgeous as you though…”

She chuckled. “Knock it off, you flirt.”

Jack walked over and leaned against her. Elsa lazily looped her arm around his shoulders.

“Your mom was asking about our wedding plans,” she murmured, her eyes falling to the engagement ring around her finger. “I had to lie to her and say that it was next June.”

“You didn’t want to just tell her that we hadn’t worked out a date yet?”

Elsa flushed. The truth was…she’d been too embarrassed. She hated not having a plan for things, and she  _really_  hated not being able to give the people she loved what they deserved.

“Maybe I should’ve,” she admitted. “Because after I told her that, she kept asking if it would be after Emma finished school or not, and who in town we should invite.”

“She’s kinda nosy,” Jack admitted.

“Runs in the family.”

He pressed a hand to his chest in mock affront. “Honestly, woman. One would think that you  _didn’t_  end up with a fiancé who never gave up on you.”

“I can have another you in a minute,” she teased, quoting Beyonce.

“Nope. I’m unique.”

“True.”

“Ha!”

“Notice I didn’t specify  _how_  you were unique.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is that a challenge, your queeniness? Shall we bring up your obsession with musical theater and your jackhammer snoring?”

“It does  _not_  sound like a jackhammer! And you’re one to talk; I heard you mumbling about cake-flavored lube in your sleep the other night.”

“Yeah, uh huh, why did you have to wake me up from that dream again?”

Elsa shook her head slowly.

“God, listen to us,” she murmured. “We might as well be married already.”

Jack opened his mouth to reply, before a thoughtful look came over his face.

“What if…” he said slowly. “What if we were?”

She looked at him in surprise.

_Is he seriously going to suggest what I think he’s going to suggest…?_

“If you want, we could skip the whole fancy-shmancy wedding and just…exchange vows here. Right now. We could even still have a big party with our friends later if they get pissed about missing out; which they probably will…”

Elsa was about to tell him exactly  _why_  they couldn’t do that and exactly how  _crazy_  the idea was, when she stopped herself.

 _Why not?_  murmured a little voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Anna.  _You’ve been so worried about it being perfect…but you love each other; isn’t that what matters?_

_But…this is crazy. It’s not logical. I never imagined doing something like this. Well, I never imagined getting married at all really, but…_

She opened her mouth again, determined to say no.

Jack looked up at her, his blue eyes wide and full of excitement. She loved that look, even if it usually meant crazy things happening a second later. She loved  _him._

What came out of her mouth was, “You know what…why not?”

“Great! Now, do you want to start, or…?”

“Jack, this isn’t sex,” she groaned.

“Yeah, no, that’s the wedding  _night._ ”

“Fine Romeo,  _you_  can start.”

Jack smirked at her one last time. Then he moved until he was standing in front of her, and took her hands. His mischievous expression became one of deadly seriousness.

“Okay…” he muttered. “Here goes nothing. What to say…” He looked at her. “Elsa. For the first time, I don’t know what to say. I guess I just…” He took a deep breath. “…I guess I just want to say how lucky I am. I’ve found a love that transcends diagnoses, state borders, taste in movies, nosy friends, and insecurities. I’ll never forget that. I promise to be there for you when you need someone but won’t say so, to go to Taylor Swift concerts, to support you, to throw shade at your asshole business partners, and to make you laugh when you’re sad. I promise to hold your hand and share my fries when you ate all yours and kiss your freckles. I promise to love you.” By that point, he looked close to tears; a far cry from the cocky Jackson Overland Frost the world was used to. “I promise to love you.”

Elsa smiled, reaching up one hand to quickly brush away tears. Then she took his again.

“Well, um…” She chuckled nervously. “I don’t know how I can top that one. Jack, I…I’m the lucky one. This love has continued even through all the crap I dragged it through. I promise to rein you in when you’re being an ass, to boost you up when you need it, to hold you close and not lock you out. I’ll sit through the action movies, I’ll laugh at the stupid jokes, I’ll throw parties because I know you love them. I’ll never forget how you kept loving me after everything, and I hope to be able to give you a fraction of what you’ve given me. I promise to be your pranking partner, your lover, and your friend. I love you.”

The two of them didn’t say anything for a moment, just let the tears blur their vision. The snow seemed to shine a little brighter.

“We can exchange rings later,” he murmured. “Unless you have one with you?”

“And  _you_  have one?”

“You’re rubbing off on me.”

She laughed a little as she dug the ring she’d been saving out of her purse, and he out of his jacket pocket. The two of them slid the rings onto each other’s fingers.

“I do.”

“I do.”

Elsa grinned. “You may now kiss the –  _mmph!_ ”

He practically tackled her, and the two of them fell back ungracefully into the snow. The two of them started laughing so hard they almost choked on each other’s tongues.

“Well – did not expect that–” she wheezed.

“Sorry–”

“No – no you’re not.”

For some reason, this made both of them cackle harder.

When they finally calmed down, realization dawned on Elsa.

“Oh my God…” she whispered, staring up into those familiar blue eyes. “We’re married. We  _eloped._  In the middle of the freaking woods.”

Jack looked a bit shell-shocked too for a moment.

“Let’s uh…” He cleared his throat. “Let’s not pull a Britney Spears with our marriage, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Agreed. Now get off me, you lump.”

“Awwww,” he whined even as he pulled the two of them up.

“Sorry. We gotta tell our friends and your family. And then we gotta start planning that party, cause they are gonna be  _pissed._  And after that…” She leaned in close and her voice dropped to a whisper. “ _Then_  you can get back on me.”

His eyes grew very wide. “God, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The two of them kissed one more time, before running back into Burgess. Their friends were going to be so surprised.

 

–Fin–


End file.
